The short-time work mechanism has recently been bolstered to limit the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic on employment. By preventing dismissals due to temporary difficulties, the reduction in hours worked allows firms to preserve their human capital and will foster the resumption of activity. Certain windfall effects should nevertheless be avoided, outside crisis periods, even though they generally remain minor compared with the benefits of such schemes during times of crisis.
Chart 1: Development of short-time work in France due to Covid-19 (1 March – 14 April 2020). Source: Dares. Note: In France, the number of requests for short-time work due to Covid-19 amounted to 904,000 at 14 April 2020, representing 8.7 million employees (34% of salaried employment).